The Best PlayStation 3 Games of All Time – Console Exclusives Part 2
Part 1 Best PS3 PSN Games PS3 Essentials
In Part 1, I covered some of the best PlayStation 3 exclusives that helped define the console’s legacy. Now let’s dive into the second half of this list, featuring more incredible games that could only be experienced on the PS3. These titles continue to showcase the innovation, technical achievements, and unforgettable experiences that made the console special.
Unlike other lists, this guide tells you which games to skip because better versions exist elsewhere.
As always, if you pick up anything through my links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only link to games I genuinely recommend. If a remaster or remake is better I tell you, even if it means losing a game sale.
2010 Continued
God of War III (Santa Monica Studio)
God of War III is pure mythological brutality: Kratos dragging himself up Mount Olympus to personally murder every god that wronged him is still one of the most cathartic action games ever made. GoW3 delivered combo-heavy combat with the Blades of Exile and heavier weapons like the Nemean Cestus, all wrapped in boss fights that felt like events rather than encounters. The scale was absurd: opening on a titan’s back mid-battle, drowning Poseidon, tearing through Hades and Zeus with zero mercy.
It set the standard for cinematic spectacle without sacrificing the tight, relentless combat that predated both Souls-style danger and Batman’s crowd control. Sony pushed the PS3 harder than almost anyone else, and the result was a technical showcase that proved consoles could do massive, gorgeous carnage. If you don’t own the original games, buy the God of War Saga which has the previous ones too.
Sports Champions (San Diego Studio, Zindagi Games)
We need some PlayStation Move representation! Sports Champions proved motion gaming could be precise: one‑to‑one tracking that felt accurate instead of approximate, and it’s still the cleanest demonstration of what PlayStation Move actually did right. Six events—archery, table tennis, gladiator duel, disc golf, beach volleyball, and bocce—deliver satisfying swings, tosses, and shots that respond to subtle movements instead of waggling.
Released as a Move launch title, it doubled as the hardware’s best argument: table tennis replicated spin and angle, archery rewarded steady hands, and gladiator combat felt legitimately competitive. It successfully showed off the controller’s capabilities the way Wii Sports did for Nintendo, minus the cultural phenomenon part. As a living‑room staple with cup mode progression and easy multiplayer, it’s the rare pack‑in that’s still worth playing today.
2011
God of War: Origins Collection (Ready at Dawn)
I usually don’t include compilations, but in this case I am making an exception. God of War: Origins Collection was the PS3’s most technically ambitious remaster—Ready at Dawn transformed two 480×272/30fps PSP games into native 1080p/60fps showcases with rebuilt assets and in 3D. The 10‑person team manually doubled or tripled polygon counts across every character, repainted every texture at 4× resolution, built a custom PS3 engine from scratch, and re‑rendered over an hour of cinematics in native 1080p so cutscenes wouldn’t suffer from grainy upscales.
Chains of Olympus sends Kratos to rescue Helios and stop Morpheus from drowning the world in eternal darkness, while Ghost of Sparta follows his hunt for his imprisoned brother Deimos, emotional stakes that deepen Kratos’ rage before God of War III. The engineering work here represents PS3 technical excellence: full stereoscopic 3D implementation with depth‑plane fixes, new 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mixing, and Trophy support. In 2025, Origins Collection remains the gold standard for how to respect handheld source material, proving remasters can honor craft instead of coasting on nostalgia.
LittleBIGPlanet 2 (Media Molecule)
LittleBigPlanet 2 turned the PS3 into a toybox—half platformer, half game‑maker—and it’s still the most empowering creation suite of its era. While Sackboy teams up with the Alliance to stop the Negativitron from vacuuming up Craftworld, the campaign mainly serves as a showcase for what you can build. Media Molecule went beyond “make a level” with logic tools, a Controlinator for custom controls, a music sequencer, and Sackbots you could program. These features let players create shooters, racers, cutscenes, and full multi‑stage adventures.
It delivered on the “platform for games” pitch, not just a platformer, with creation tools that were flexible, friendly, and expressive. The community response was massive: Sony and Guinness ran a NYC event where LBP2 set five records, including “most gaming genres in one video game” and “most player‑created levels”. It’s proof that handing players real tools can turn an exclusive into a little game‑making studio that still hasn’t been matched.
Uncharted 3 (Naughty Dog)
Uncharted 3 is a slick, pulpy blockbuster and it racked up about 20 Game of the Year awards to prove it. Nathan Drake and Sully chase the fabled Atlantis of the Sands while crossing a secret society led by Katherine Marlowe and her fixer Talbot, giving the story a classic pulp hook. The ride is the point: a burning chateau, a capsizing cruise ship, a free-falling cargo plane sequence, and a march through the desert that still lands as a showstopper.
Combat and traversal feel punchier, with beefed‑up melee, slicker contextual moves, and setpieces that keep control in the player’s hands instead of turning into cutscene soup. It cemented the template for cinematic action‑adventure games: constant forward momentum, big theatrical moments, character banter that doesn’t quit. It also influenced everything from the Tomb Raider reboot to countless imitators chasing that blockbuster pacing. Even now it holds up as a crowd‑pleasing thrill ride that knows exactly what it’s doing.
2012
Sorcery (The Workshop)
Sorcery is the PS Move game that finally made the wand feel like, well, a wand—a short, hands-on spell‑slinging adventure that works. Flick to fire arcane bolts, snap to curve shots around cover, and swap between fire, ice, wind, earth, and lightning for some satisfying combos. You play Finn, a young apprentice trekking with his snarky cat companion Erline to stop the Nightmare Queen from swallowing the Faerie Kingdom, giving the whole thing a storybook vibe with a few darker turns.
Sorcery mixes light puzzling and potion‑mixing with breezy set pieces, and the gesture casting is intuitive enough that newcomers can pick it up fast. It set the template for gesture‑based spellcasting that later VR games like The Wizards and Wands would refine, and it still holds up as the most responsive magic game Move ever got.
2013
Gran Turismo 6 (Polyphony Digital)
Gran Turismo 6 is the PS3’s sim‑racing swan song: a huge garage, sharper handling, and the first game to earn FIA certification for its tracks—a stamp of legitimacy no racing game had ever received. GT6 reworked the physics with real tire and suspension data, so weight shift, braking dive, and body roll have a more natural feel. You get roughly 1,200 cars and 30 locations, plus the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb to thrash everything from exotics to family cars.
Vision Gran Turismo turns the game into a rolling concept‑car museum as brands drop drivable prototypes over time; and yes, there are lunar rover missions that let the physics go low‑gravity weird in a side tour. The FIA partnership opened the door for officially sanctioned online championships and tied GT directly into real motorsport, setting the standard for how serious racing sims validate themselves today. It still holds up as a PS3 sendoff with a driving feel that’s satisfying on a wheel or a pad.
The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)
The Last of Us is the PS3’s signature gut‑punch—part stealth‑survival, part character study—and it swept 257 Game of the Year awards, the most ever at the time. Joel and Ellie’s trek across a cordyceps‑ruined America makes every resource matter, pushing quiet stealth, crafting, and hard choices. What’s wonderful is how the tense, systems‑driven encounters serve the relationship at the center, backed by actors’ performances and a memorable score.
It’s brutal without being empty, using limited ammo, brittle melee, and risk‑reward stealth to make every decision feel costly and human. It raised the bar for how AAA games handle performance capture and environmental storytelling, influencing everything from God of War to practically every narrative‑driven adventure that followed. Even now its pacing, encounter design, and narrative payoffs still hold up. However, see below regarding the PS5 version.
MLB 13: The Show (San Diego Studio)
MLB 13: The Show brought PlayStation’s baseball sim to its peak on the PS3, refining every mode and feature that made the series Sony’s sports flagship. Road to the Show got a narrative overhaul with scouting reports, draft drama, and minor league authenticity that made the climb from AA to The Show feel satisfying and earned. The hitting engine added wider timing windows and a beginner mode that welcomed newcomers without dumbing down simulation. Franchise mode delivered budgets that grew with team success, a rebuilt scouting system, and mid-season roster chaos.
The Show Live pulled real MLB stats into saves without breaking immersion, letting players follow along with the actual season. It solidified The Show as the gold standard for baseball sims after EA’s exit, setting the template for how the series would dominate the genre moving forward. MLB 13 still holds up with 60fps, tight controls, and simulation depth that makes every pitch count.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Level-5)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is one of the PS3’s best JRPGs, a blend of heartfelt story, creature collecting, and hand‑drawn animation. Oliver crosses into another world to save his mother, guided by Drippy, a talking fairy whose warmth keeps the adventure grounded. Real‑time battles mix menu commands with positioning and active dodges, while hundreds of familiars can be captured and evolved to shape the party’s tactics without busywork.
Built as a significantly enhanced take on the original Nintendo DS game Dominion of the Dark Djinn, it upgrades combat, adds story beats, and folds the Wizard’s Companion directly into play along with expanded Studio Ghibli sequences. It set a very high bar for art‑driven console JRPGs and it’s just as fun to play today.
2016
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir (Vanillaware)
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is the definitive version of the storybook action RPG, rebuilding the PS2 classic with 60fps combat, smarter systems, and seamless flow without losing the original’s soul. Five intertwined heroes fight across Erion’s wars and the looming Armageddon, their “books” overlapping in a saga told through interlocking perspectives. Combat is faster and clearer: expanded weapon attacks, special skills, and alchemic potions snap together cleanly at a locked framerate, and the redrawn art and reworked layouts keep battles readable when the screen fills up.
As a remake, it adds quality‑of‑life everywhere (revamped maps, new encounters, refined scenes) and even includes an option to play the original mode for purists. It directly inspired OTK Games to create The Vagrant as a tribute, set the standard for remakes, and helped prove 2D art-driven games could thrive in the HD era. OS:L still holds up as the gold standard for reviving beloved RPGs while keeping their quirks intact.
We’re not done! In addition to exclusive games, there were the PlayStation Network (PSN) titles, which are the subject of my next post. Following that I will write about the best multiplatform games of the era that the PS3 excelled at.
Games Not Included
Infamous 2 (2011) is a great game, probably surpassing the original in gameplay and technical performance, and everyone should play it. The first one was great too, and it was more innovative.
Killzone 3 (2011). The gameplay is arguably better than 2, but isn’t quite strong enough overall for inclusion in my list. Get the trilogy.
Guacamelee! (2013). This game is completely replaced by the Super Turbo Championship Edition on later consoles. Play that version.
The Last of Us (2013). This is a weird case. The PS4 version is the same game, it doesn’t replace the original. The Last of Us Part I for the PS5 was rebuilt from the ground up–if you haven’t played the game before, the PS5 is probably the way to play it. However, there was backlash too: the graphics and AI were better but the gameplay wasn’t improved at all, and it wasn’t recommended quite as much. In this one case I’ll list the game above and here as well.
Persona 5 (2016). The PS4 and PS5 versions are totally superior.